Fall For You
by Gee14
Summary: When Vanessa comes to town to visit her best friend Ryan, she has a hard time getting Ryan to understand that she doesn't like him the way he likes her. When Vanessa meets Justin, she feels like she can prove her point to her head-over-heels best friend. The only problem is that Justin has a sort-of girlfriend that he cant let go. Will Vanessa be able to get Justin to fall for her?
1. Chapter 1

_**Vanessa's POV:**_

I looked up at the sky.

It was raining Hershey Kisses. I collapsed backward and surrounded myself in the chocolate. I ate piece after piece until I was completely full.

I absolutely _loved _chocolate.

I got up and pranced around in the field and caught some of the falling, bite-sized pieces in my hands.

_This is the best day of my life,_ I thought to myself.

Then I woke up.

"Vanessa, wake up."

I opened my eyes and saw my best friend Ryan sitting beside me.

"Oh, hey Ryan. What are you doing in my room?"

He shrugged and bent over to grab a basketball off of the floor.

"I got bored. Wanna shoot some hoops?"

I looked at him and rolled my eyes.

"You know I suck."

"Come on Vanessa, I told you I'd teach you."

I shook my head. "No thanks, I'd like to keep my dignity."

"You're only visiting for the rest of the summer Vanessa, you have to do _something_ with me."

"How about we go see a movie?" I looked at him, hoping he would agree.

"We went to the movies twice last week. Let's do something else."

I thought for a second. "How about we go for a walk out on the town, and get some ice cream?"

He smiled and punched my shoulder. "What, like a date?"

I shoved him. "No, Ryan. Just for fun."

I saw the disappointment in his eyes, but it quickly went away.

I don't know what I'm gonna do with him. He knows I don't like him the way he likes me...

"What time do you want to go?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

I looked at the clock: 4:00pm.

"How about in an hour? I have to put something else on."

He nodded and walked out of my room.

I hated seeing him like that, but that's just the way it has to be.

(An hour later)

"Hey Vanessa, look over there, it's a love tunnel!"

I rolled my eyes. We decided to go to the carnival since it came to town earlier this week.

"We're not riding that Ryan."

He sighed and looked away. I was starting to wish I never agreed to come visit him.

Ryan was still gazing at the love tunnel, so I decided to check it out.

"Do you see what I see?" He asked.

"What is it?"

He pointed to a couple arguing. They were in the love tunnel line, and people were starting to stare.

Ryan pulled me over to the crowd. I didn't object, cause I wanted to hear too.

"What do you mean I'm getting on your nerves?" The boy yelled.

"You're so damn _clingy!_ I need some space! You don't have to invite me _everywhere_ you know."

He looked shocked. "So you're saying that I shouldn't invite my girlfriend to go on a _date _with me?!"

"That's not what I meant Justin."

Ryan and some other guys started to laugh.

Poor Justin's face was getting red with embarrassment. Who _is_ this girl?

"Then what _do_ you mean Sarah?"

She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "Maybe we should take a break Justin. I really need some time to myself."

Sarah walked off in the other direction, and another girl followed her.

Some people in the crowd were gasping and others were laughing.

One of the laughers was Ryan.

Justin walked off, obviously heart broken, and the crowd started to scatter.

I smacked Ryan in the arm and ran after Justin.

"Hey Justin, wait!"

He spun around instantly, and I felt bad for making him think that Sarah would be the one chasing him.

His hopeful look faded once he saw me.

"Who are you?" He asked, wiping at his eyes, and turning to face the other direction.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What do you want?"

"I just...I saw what happened. I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

"It's whatever."

He didn't seem to want to talk, so I turned and started walking away.

"Hey, wait..."

I stopped. "Yeah?"

I heard the sound of footsteps. He was coming closer.

"Did you really want to know if I was okay? Or were you just messing with me?"

I turned to face him. "Why would I come to mess with you? You were just publicly humiliated. I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Well...thanks."

I nodded and started to walk away again.

"Wait!"

I sighed under my breath and turned around. "_Yeah?"_

"What's your name?"

"My name is Vanessa."

"Thanks Vanessa. I mean, for not laughing at me and all."

I smiled at him. "You're welcome."

He finally turned around, and made his way to the parking lot.

I watched him until he got in his car, and drove off.

"Hey, Vanessa."

I turned to find Ryan standing there.

I glared at him, and then started power walking past him.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Your house."

"But we've only been here for twenty minutes!"

"Whatever. Stay here if you want. I have a key."

"Vanessa!"

I ignored him and kept walking.

I didn't have time for people who laughed when others were hurt.


	2. Chapter 2

**Vanessa**

When I got back to Ryan's house, I was surprised to see that he hadn't followed me here.

I sighed in relief, unlocked the door and went in.

I went upstairs and into the guestroom to change out of my clothes.

When I checked my phone for messages from my parents, all I saw were missed calls from Ryan.

* * *

I threw my phone on the bed and took a shower. I didn't feel like talking to him right now.

An hour later, I was out of the shower and in my PJ's.

Ryan was still nowhere in sight. And his parents were staying out late tonight.

"Oh well, guess I have the house to myself."

I turned on the TV and started watching reruns of old shows.

I started to get hungry, and there wasn't any good food in the fridge when I checked.

So I decided to go for a walk and get some fast food downtown.

I grabbed my wallet and headed out the door.

I passed by Wendy's and Burger King, but I wasn't really in the mood.

But I didn't have enough money to sit down in a diner and eat, so when I got to McDonald's, I just went inside.

There was a line, so I got in the back of it.

I felt weird since I was in my PJ's and nobody else was.

I was starting to worry about Ryan, since he hadn't called again, and he never came back to the house. Then someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey."

I turned to look into the eyes of Justin.

"Oh, wow. Hey."

He smiled and pointed to the cashier. "It's your turn."

My heart dropped. Everyone was staring at me. "Oops, sorry."

I quickly ordered my food and stood off to the side, facing away from everyone else.

"Looks like we were both publicly humiliated tonight."

I turned to face Justin again. I laughed a little. "Um, yeah. I guess so."

He looked around. "So, are you here with anyone?"

I shook my head quickly. "Nope. You?"

He shook his head too. "No. Wanna sit with me then?"

I was surprised at his offer. "Uh...sure."

"Cool."

When our orders were called, we grabbed them and picked a table next to a big window.

When we sat, I looked at him for a minute.

His eyes were gorgeous. And his hair was really cool.

How could that Sarah girl not want to be with _him?_

I remembered that it's rude to stare, so I quickly looked at my fries.

"So..."

I looked back up at him, and he was checking me out.

I glanced down and realized that my bra was starting to stick out of my over-the-shoulder-top.

I quickly pulled it up.

He laughed a bit and looked back at me.

"What brings you here?"

I thought about it. "Well, I was with my friend Ryan earlier, then...um..."

I didn't know how to explain without bringing up the whole argument thing.

"Then...what?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Then we saw...something, and then something else happened, and then...I left him, and now I'm here."

He looked at me funny. "Okay then...?"

"I didn't know how to answer without bringing up that whole argument thing you had, so I tried to avoid saying it."

He nodded. "Oh. It's okay. I think I'm over that now. Why'd you leave your friend?"

"Cause he was one of the people laughing at you."

He smiled at me, and took a sip of his drink.

"Aren't you gonna eat anything?" He asked me, pointing to my food.

I looked down at it. "Oh...yeah. I forgot."

I picked up a fry and popped it into my mouth.

"You're pretty funny," He said to me.

I smiled. "Thanks. So...what brings _you_ here?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't really have anything else to do. I was supposed to be with Sarah still. But...she blew up on me."

I nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, really. I mean, she was right. I did cling to her a bit."

"But you're supposed to do that. She's your girlfriend. If anything, she should be happy someone's willing to make time for her."

He looked confused. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I mean, if I had someone like that, I wouldn't do what she did to you today. If I didn't wanna come, I would have just told you to go without me."

He nodded, as if gathering all I just said.

He pulled out his phone. "Excuse me for a sec."

I nodded.

By the time he got back, I had finished my fries.

"Thanks for waiting."

"No problem. Who'd you call?"

He put his phone back in his pocket. "Sarah."

I raised my eyebrows. "What for?"

"I broke up with her."

I almost choked on my drink.

When I stopped coughing, he looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

I nodded quickly and put my drink back down.

"Why'd you do that?"

My voice was hoarse, so I tried sipping some more of my drink.

"You were right. And I didn't want to waste my time on someone who didn't even want me around in the first place."

"Oh. Well, good for you then."

My phone started vibrating and hopping around the table. I looked at the screen.

It was Ryan.

"Hold on a sec."

I got up and went outside. "Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"McDonald's. Why?"

"Because you never called me back. And I got back home and you weren't here."

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't feel like talking to you."

He sighed. "Okay, but why are you at McDonald's?"

"Cause I was hungry. And I'm with someone right now. I'll be back there soon."

I hung up before he could say anything else, and went back inside.

Justin was looking at his watch.

"Sorry. That was Ryan."

He looked up at me. "That's okay. Listen, I gotta get home. I'll see you around, okay?"

He stood up and held his hand out. I shook it, and he smiled at me.

"Bye, Vanessa."

"Bye Justin."

I watched him walk out to his car.

It was getting dark, so I decided to hurry up and get back to Ryan's.

**(Later that night)**

When I arrived back at Ryan's place, it was really dark out.

I almost tripped up the stairs, since there were no porch lights on.

I pulled out my key, and let myself in. I was surprised when I saw Ryan making out with some girl on the couch.

My hand instantly covered my eyes, and I made a gagging noise.

"Get a room." I growled, then went upstairs to the guestroom.

As soon as I shut the door and sat down on the bed, there was a knock on the door.

"What?" I said, with attitude.

Ryan walked in, with that girl from the couch with him.

"I want to introduce you to Shay." He gestured to the girl beside him.

I nodded at her. "Hey."

She smiled and waved. "What's your name?"

"Vanessa." I stood up and hesitated before shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you Vanessa."

It took every fiber in my body not to roll my eyes.

"You too." I spoke through gritted teeth.

"Well, I'm tired. I'm going to bed, okay?"

The two nodded and left the room.

I sighed with relief.

* * *

After I heard the front door close, and Ryan retreat to his room, I quickly took another shower and went to bed.

**(Later)**

I tossed and turned all night long.

I couldn't get that Justin guy out of my head.

He was so sweet, and cute. I didn't really learn that much about him during that little time.

I woke up determined to find Justin and talk to him again.

I got dressed, and made myself up a little bit. Then I left Ryan a note on the fridge and walked out the door.

There was no exact place I had in mind to look, so I just walked around the areas I walked through last night.

I got to the carnival, and I saw Justin's car parked in the parking lot.

I have to admit, my stomach lurched a little.

When I walked through the gate to enter, I saw Justin sitting at a picnic table by himself.

"Perfect," I thought.

I sped up and was about to call out to him when I saw a girl walk right up to his table.

She tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a teddy bear. Then she sat on his lap.

Then she kissed him.

I squinted a little so that I could see who it was.

It was Sarah.

Didn't he break up with her yesterday?

I noticed he was about to look in my direction, so I turned my attention to the line of the snack bar.

He was walking up to me just as I was receiving my bag of chips from the guy behind the counter.

"Hey, Vanessa!"

I turned and started walking away quickly.

"Vanessa, where are you going?"

I guess he couldn't see that I didn't wanna talk.

So I turned to face him. "Ryan's house."

"Why? It's only noon." He looked back at me after looking at his watch.

"Um, well, I just feel like doing something else."

"You saw, didn't you?"

I pretended not to know what he was talking about. "Saw what?"

"Sarah. She kissed me. Come on, I know you saw."

"Okay, so I saw. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"We got back together...she apologized and everything..."

I nodded and turned back toward the exit. "That's great. Bye."

"Vanessa, wait, at least...come meet her?"

"What for?" I asked, slightly irritated.

"I want you to meet her."

I don't know what it was, but whatever he was doing to force me to turn around was pretty powerful.

"Fine." I said, coldly.

We walked up to Sarah, and her smile immediately faded.

"Sarah, this is my new friend, Vanessa."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "And?"

I tossed my chips into a nearby trashcan and started walking away.

"I don't have time for this. See you around, Justin."

I heard Justin arguing with Sarah quietly, but they soon were out of earshot.

I felt a little betrayed.

He told me that he broke up with her last night because he didn't wanna waste his time on someone who didn't want him around.

He didn't wanna waste his time on someone who publicly humiliated him.

But then she comes to him with a simple "I'm sorry", and everything's all right?

And then he had the nerve to introduce me to her?

Whatever. That just ruined my entire day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Vanessa**

When I got back to Ryan's, I pulled out my keys and unlocked the front door.

As soon as I pushed the door open, a smell of waffles, eggs and bacon instantly hit me, making me realize how hungry I was. I was really regretting throwing away that bag of chips.

I walked over to the kitchen, where I found Ryan at the stove frying up some eggs.

"Hey."

He looked up at me, surprised. "I thought you went out?"

My stomach churned when I remembered my encounter I had with Justin.

"I did, but I decided to come back. After all, I'm supposed to be hanging out with you, right?"

He dropped his spatula when I said this, then quickly bent down to pick it up.

I fought back a laugh. His reaction was actually kind of cute.

"Really? I mean, you're not mad at me anymore?" He looked at me pleadingly.

My lips formed a thin line. "I'm still mad at you, but I'm wiling to let it slide."

He smiled at me, and then walked around the counter over to where I was standing.

"Thanks." He said, wiping his hands on his apron before wrapping his arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug.

"You're welcome." I said, pushing him away as I rolled my eyes.

He blushed. "Sorry."

"So, when did you meet that Shay girl?" I asked, crossing my arms.

His cheeks turned a deep red color, before he replied, "At the fair, after you left."

"Uh-huh. Interesting." I said, smirking. "She seems like quite the girl."

He scratched the back of his head. "Uh, yeah… guess you could say that. Anyway…"

He trailed off, looking away from me.

"What do you wanna do today Ryan?" I asked him, waiting for him to turn and look back at me.

He seemed to be thinking. "I don't know. How about the mall?"

I raised my eyebrows at this. "The mall? Seriously Ryan? You wanna go to the mall?"

He nodded. "Well, yeah. I mean, where else could we go?"

I smiled at him. "Okay. Just give me a second. I need to change into something else."

He grimaced. "But you look fine. Why do you need to change?"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "I'm not wearing this outfit to the mall."

He shook his head. "Alright, whatever. I'll be waiting in the living room."

I headed upstairs to my room and looked in my closet. As usual, I couldn't find anything to wear, even though my closet was completely full.

I decided on a crop top, skirt, and flats.

After throwing that on, I brushed my hair out, and then curled it.

After applying more makeup, I grabbed my bag and walked back downstairs and into the living room where Ryan sat watching TV.

"Alright, I'm ready Ryan. Are we taking my car or yours?"

He looked up at me, and his mouth dropped open. "Um…I…"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "Let's take my car. I'll drive."

"Okay…" He replied, getting up and following me out the front door.

The car ride to the mall was silent, except for the music playing lightly in the background.

Good thing the ride to the mall wasn't too long, because I can't stand silent car rides.

When I pulled into the mall parking lot, I drove all around trying to find a space.

It was when I pulled around to Macy's parking, when I spotted Justin's car in the parking lot.

I sighed, slowly pulling into a space two cars down from Justin's Range Rover.

I shut the car off and hopped out, grabbing my bag out of the back seat.

Ryan fell into step beside me, a little bit _too_ close to me.

I stepped to my left, trying to give myself so space as we walked.

We decided to walk over to the food court entrance because Ryan never did get to eat the food he made for himself.

Ryan and I entered the food court, and immediately he went off to find somewhere to eat. I decided to get a slice of pizza, and began walking through the food court when I spotted an all too familiar guy sitting at one of the tables.

Even though I only caught a glimpse of him from the corner of my eye, he still managed to see me.

"Hey, Vanessa!"

I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying something mean, and turned to face him.

"Oh, hey Justin."

I just stood there, a few feet away from him staring at him awkwardly. After a few moments of silence, I started to walk away.

"Hey, wait!"

I rolled my eyes and turned back around. "Yeah?"

"Come here. I wanna talk to you."

Why was it that everywhere I went, Justin was also there?

I slowly walked over to his table, looking around for any undesirable guests.

"Don't worry, Sarah isn't here." He looked down at his hands after saying this.

"Where is she?" I asked, my voice flat and showing absolutely no interest.

He shrugged. "She broke up with me."

I sighed. "Why?"

"I don't know. She's so moody."

I bit my lip. "Maybe she just doesn't like you the way you like her."

He snapped his head up to look at me. "Maybe you shouldn't talk about her like you know her."

My eyes widened. "You are an asshole."

I turned around and started walking away, any sign of an appetite gone.

"Vanessa, wait…"

This time I ignored him and kept walking. I needed to find Ryan.

It didn't take me long. He was standing in the line at Subway.

I walked right up to him and stood bedside him in line. "Hey." I said.

He turned to face me, a look of surprise on his face. "I thought you were getting something to eat?"

I shook my head. "Lost my appetite."

I could tell he was confused, but he didn't ask any questions.

I pointed to the counter. "It's your turn to order."

He turned, and then stepped up to the counter and began telling what he wanted on his sandwich.

I stepped out of line and found an empty table. I walked over to it and sat down, making sure there was nothing on it before I pulled out my phone and started messing around.

"Hey."

I looked up fully expecting to see Ryan standing in front of me. Instead, it was Justin.

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice more bitter than expected. He seemed taken aback, but he didn't leave.

"I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't trying to snap at you. I just…I'm just really upset."

"Clearly." I stated, looking back down at my phone.

He pulled out the seat in front of me and sat down. "Look, I know we barely even know each other, but I've managed to piss you off twice already. I…how about we hang out sometime?"

I slowly put my phone down onto the table, and looked up at him.

He had a hopeful look in his eyes as he waited for my response.

I sighed. "Yeah, sure okay. When?"

He burst into a smile. "Are you doing anything now?"

Just as he asked me that, Ryan walked over to the table and sat down beside me.

"Uh, yeah, I'm hanging with Ryan today. Maybe tomorrow."

Justin exchanged a glance with Ryan before grabbing my phone from the table. He started typing things, and then he handed it back to me.

"Just text me, okay?"

I nodded, and Justin got up from the table and took his keys out of his pocket, twirling them around on his finger as he walked toward the exit.

"What was that about?" Ryan asked, unwrapping his sandwich before taking a huge bite out of it.

I shrugged. "We were just talking." I said, looking back down at my phone.

He nodded, soon finishing off half of his sandwich in a few more bites.

After he finished stuffing himself, I dragged him around to a few stores, trying to find a new outfit. It sounds lame, but I wanted to look good when I got around to hanging out with Justin.

I ended up buying way more than I anticipated, causing Ryan to become extremely irritated.

"Can we _go_ now? I look stupid carrying your shopping bags."

I smiled at him, taking the few bags he was holding for me. "Yeah, I'm done now. Can you get my keys out of my pocket?"

He felt my front pockets, but I remembered that I had put my keys in my back pocket.

Ryan hesitated as he stuffed his hand into my back pocket, basically groping my butt in the process.

I chuckled lightly as he stood there beside me, my keys now in his hands.

"Can you hold them for me? My hands are full."

He nodded and silently walked beside me out to the parking lot.

I could sense that Ryan was a little embarrassed by out little encounter earlier, but I didn't bother trying to comfort him. I figured he'd just come around on his own.

Ryan and I had been sitting in his living room just watching movies and talking for a while.

It was now four, and I was beginning to get a little bored.

Ryan's phone buzzed, and he grabbed it off the coffee table.

"Shay said she wants to go out…is it okay if I go? I do you want me to stay?"

I could tell that he was hoping that I would ask him to stay, but I told him to go ahead.

I thought it was a great thing that he started hanging out with Shay. This way, I could have some time to myself, or to hang out with other guys.

After Ryan walked out of the door after saying goodbye for the tenth time, and asking if I was sure he didn't want me to stay, I picked up my phone and texted Justin.

He replied a few minutes later, telling me that he'd pick me up in fifteen minutes, which gave me barely any time to get myself ready.

I quickly rushed up to my room and grabbed a pair of high-wasted shorts, a bandeau, and a cardigan and threw them on. I grabbed a pair of knee-high boots and my bag on the way out of my room, and went downstairs into the living room.

After I put my boots on and looked in the mirror to make sure my hair and makeup looked okay, I received a text from Justin saying that he was outside in the driveway.

I made sure I had my key to Ryan's house, and locked the front door before walking down the front walk and over to his car.

He hopped out of the driver's seat and met me right beside his car.

"Hey Vanessa."

I smiled up at him. "Hey."

"What happened to your friend?"

I assumed he was talking about Ryan. "He went out with this girl Shay."

He raised his eyebrows. "Ah, I see. So that's when you texted me?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I didn't wanna sit around and do nothing."

He smiled back at me, giving me a once-over. "You look great Vanessa."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, thank you."

"What? I mean it!" He exclaimed, leading me around to the passenger side of his car.

He opened the door for me, and gestured for me to get inside.

"Thank you." I stated, as I hoisted myself into his car, putting on my seat belt as he shut the door.

He got into the driver's seat, pulled on his seat belt, and turned to face me.

"So. What are you up for?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not sure. Ryan and I have done basically everything there is to do around here. What do you wanna do?"

"Well, there's this party at one of my friends' house later on at eight. You wanna go?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like fun."

He smiled as he turned on his car, letting it idle. "But what should we do for three and a half hours?"

I looked over at him again, thinking to myself. "We could just…go sit somewhere for a while and talk or something."

He raised his eyebrows. "Okay, sounds good. I'll just drive around until we find a place."

He backed out of the driveway and pulled out onto the street. It didn't take long before we were on the city streets, looking around for a place to hang.

We approached a small park that had benches all over.

Justin pulled into the parking lot and parked the car near the entrance.

I hopped out of the car and started walking toward the park's entrance. I heard Justin's footsteps behind me, and I slowed my pace a bit so that he could catch up.

We began walking toward a park bench, and once we got to it, we sat down on it, making sure we were a safe distance apart before beginning a conversation.

"So, how ling have you and Ryan been friends?"

I was a little shocked at his question, but I answered it anyway. "Since kindergarten."

Justin nodded, lifting up his arms and resting them on the bench, making sure not to put his arm around me. I smiled to myself.

"I think he likes you."

I raised my eyebrows at this, and looked over at him. "Yeah, I know. I've known for years."

I let out a heavy sigh, and slumped my shoulders, thinking about Ryan.

"What's wrong?" Justin asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing. It's just…he likes me so much, and I just…don't like him that way at all. And I can't get him to understand that."

Justin scooted closer to me. "Don't get all bent out of shape. He'll figure it out some time. Maybe this girl he's with will help him realize that."

I looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks. I needed to hear that. So…have you talked to Sarah lately?"

I knew it was a touchy subject, but I really wanted to know.

I shrugged. "Not since she broke up with me earlier today. Why?"

It was my turn to shrug. "I don't know, I just thought I'd ask."

He nodded. "Just wondering, why do you care about me and Sarah so much?"

I flinched at this. It seemed sort of like a slap in the face. "Um, have you ever heard of sympathy? And caring about someone?" I asked, my voice showing signs of irritation as I scooted away from him, crossing my arms.

"Hey, don't get mad Vanessa. I'm sorry okay? I wasn't trying to be mean about it. I just wanted to know."

I sighed. "It's whatever. Let's just talk about something else before I lose my cool."

He chuckled before sliding even closer to me so that our thighs were touching.

I looked at him hesitantly. "What are you doing?"

He looked at me, confused. "What do you mean?"

I glanced down at our bodies touching before looking back up at him.

He smiled slightly. "What, do you want me to move over?"

I thought about it before replying. "No. You're fine. It's just, you were so sure not to be anywhere near me earlier, and now you're basically glued to my side."

He shrugged. "What if I told you that I was sort of…attracted to you?"

I looked back up at him, a look of surprise on my features. "Um, I don't know what I would do, actually."

He smiled sheepishly. "How would you like to go to the party tonight as my date?"

I stared at him, speechless. "As…your date? You need a date to go to the party?"

He laughed at my confusion. "No, I don't need a date, but I'd like for you to be my date tonight."

My cheeks started burning, and I looked down at my hands. "Um, yeah. Okay. I'd love to be your date."

He placed at hand on my thigh and grabbed my face with his other hand, making me look up at him.

"Hey, I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable."

I gazed into his eyes for a few seconds before placing my hand on top of his.

"It's okay. I'm not uncomfortable, I'm just a little surprised."

Justin removed his hand from my face, and I felt a breeze pass over us, making me feel the loss of his warmth on my skin.

I could feel Justin looking at me, but I did my best to look elsewhere, focusing my attention on something else, as I thought of something else I could say.


	4. Chapter 4

**Vanessa**

"Do you mind stopping by my house before we go?"

Justin glanced over at me, confused. "How come?"

I looked down at my outfit and looked back at him. "Because, I need to look appropriate if I'm going to this party as your date."

He chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he shifted in his seat.

I raised my eyebrows. "What's so funny?"

He shook his head again and looked over at me quickly before looking back at the road. "You look amazing. Why would you want to put on something else?"

My cheeks began burning again, and I looked out the window. "I just…thought I should wear something more…party-friendly."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

I glanced over at him. We were stopped at a stop light, and his eyes were on me.

"Believe what?"

"That you look absolutely amazing in that outfit."

My body was tingling all over, and I soon found it extremely difficult to look at him.

We started moving again, but Justin didn't let up. "Vanessa, answer me."

I bit my lip and stared down at my hands. "What do you want me to say Justin?"

"I want you to answer my question."

I sighed before squirming in my seat. "No, okay? I don't believe you."

Seconds later I flinched at his touch, realizing his hand was placed on my thigh.

"Relax Vanessa. You're really tense right now. I just gave you a compliment, and I want you to know that I mean it, and I want you to believe me."

I kept my eyes on his hand, still placed on my thigh. "I appreciate it. Really, I do. I mean, I get compliments from Ryan all the time. It's just different with you, you know? I don't really know you."

He was quiet for a little while before answering. "Then how about we get to know each other?"

I quickly looked at him to find him looking dead at me.

I nodded. "Alright. Let's do it. But…after tonight okay?"

He smiled before nodding in agreement. "Absolutely."

We soon pulled up to a fairly large house with a few balloons tied to the mailbox.

Justin maneuvered his way into a spot between two cars out front, and then he hopped out, me right behind him.

He held out his arm to me, and I linked mine in his before he led me around the house and to the back where we found a patio full of people.

Justin nodded at a few, and I recognized some of them as well.

He led me over to an amazing pool, where bunches of people were lingering, drinking when they weren't supposed to be. I rolled my eyes at the stupidity and stayed close to Justin's side.

We eventually walked up to some pool chairs and sat down facing each other.

"So…" Justin said as he looked over at me, smiling.

I raised an eyebrow. "So…" I repeated, staring straight at him.

"…Are you okay? You're shaking." Justin pointed down to my hands, and I followed his gaze.

My eyes widened, and my cheeks were on fire. "Oh, um, I don't know. I mean, yeah, I'm fine. I guess…"

Justin got up and sat down right beside me, placing an arm around my waist. "Vanessa, you don't have to be nervous around me."

"What makes you think I'm nervous?" I asked him, looking down at my shaking hands.

He wrapped his left hand around my shaking ones and laughed. "Because your hands are shaking even more now, and you can't even look me in the eye when I talk to you."

I craned my neck to look up into his gorgeous eyes. "I'm looking at you now."

He moved in closer to my face, his smile widening. "Yeah, after I told you that you weren't."

I closed my eyes and laughed to myself before returning my gaze back to my hands, still wrapped in Justin's.

Justin took his left hand and placed it onto my chin, pulling my face to look up at him again.

Just as he was about to say something to me, his gaze shifted above my head. I turned to look at where he was looking, my stomach plummeting when my eyes landed on what Justin was focused on.

"Justin? What are you doing here?"

I saw none other than Sarah herself, standing in front of us with her hand placed on her hip, and eyebrow raised.

Justin immediately stood up, letting go of me in the process causing us both to stumble a bit.

"I uh…I just…I was invited so…I thought…" He stuttered over his words, and kept fidgeting.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "So you thought you could just show up to my house like this? Justin, we just broke up. Why would you come over here?"

"I just thought…that I was still able to come. I mean, one of our friends invited me a while ago, and I didn't wanna just-"

Sarah put a hand up to silence him. "Look, I know what you came here to do Justin. And you're not making me jealous by bringing this girl here with you. Your little plan isn't working, and we're not getting back together. Not this time."

I watched as Justin literally fell apart in between us. I felt so bad for him, yet, at the same time I was pissed that he tried to use me.

Justin just looked down at his feet as Sarah walked away, and I noticed just how much attention we were receiving. Almost everyone was staring directly at us, and Justin's face was bright pink as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

I walked over to Justin and tried to pull him away from the crowd, but he shoved me off of him, causing me to stumble backwards a bit, and stalked off toward the exit.

I stared after him for a few seconds, stunned at how he's handled me.

I heard people around me whispering to each other as I followed behind him.

I caught a glimpse of Justin as he power walked toward his car, and decided to call my own ride home. There was no way in hell I was going to even consider talking to him after how he treated me.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Ryan. He answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Ryan…I need you to come and get me."

He immediately sounded concerned. "What's wrong? Where are you?"

I gave him the address and walked over to the curb in front of Sarah's house, sitting myself down on it before putting my phone back into my bag.

I huffed to myself and pulled my knees to my chest before placing my chin on top of them.

It wasn't too much later when Ryan pulled up to the curb in front of me. He hopped out and walked over to me, nudging me with his hand.

"You alright? Where's that Justin kid?"

I shrugged. I watched him speed off in the direction we came.

"So he just left you here by yourself?"

I looked up at Ryan. He looked angry, his hands rolled up in fists.

I stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine Ryan. Can we talk about it later? I really just wanna get back to your house and sleep this off."

He looked reluctant, but he got back into the car after helping me into the passenger side.

As he pulled away from the curb, I rested my head of the seat and closed my eyes, desperate to just take a shower, and sleep peacefully in bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Vanessa**

"Do you want me to make you something for breakfast?"

I groaned to myself before rolling over to my left side, facing away from Ryan.

"No. I'm not hungry. Thanks though."

I heard Ryan shift in the doorway of the guest room and sigh. "Nessie, you need to eat something. You didn't eat dinner last night."

My heart panged in my chest at the sound of my old nickname that Ryan used to call me when we were kids.

I sat up in bed and turned my head to look at him. "You called me Nessie."

His face immediately turned red, and he began fidgeting, looking everywhere but my face.

I smiled at his discomfort before laying my head back down on the pillow.

"Sorry, I…didn't mean to call you that. I just…"

I held up my hand to silence him. "It's okay Ryan. It was cute. I haven't heard you call me that in years."

I looked over at him, and he was still looking down at his feet.

"Don't you have food cooking downstairs?"

He gasped and ran down the hallway, toward the stairs. "Crap!"

I laughed to myself as I listened to him maneuver around the kitchen.

I heard my phone buzz from across the room, and I sighed as I got up to look at who was calling.

I rolled my eyes when I realized it was Justin calling for the millionth time since last night.

I'd been ignoring him every single time, and every single time he would leave a voicemail.

_Hey Vanessa…it's me, Justin. I just…I wanted to apologize about last night. I shouldn't have pushed you away and I definitely shouldn't have left you at Sarah's house. I was just upset, and I'm sorry. Just…can you please answer me? I need to talk to you. Alright… I'm gonna go now. _

And…

_Hey Vanessa it's me again…can you _please_ answer my calls? I just…I need to hear your voice. I want to talk to you. Please pick up._

And the list goes on and on. After I hit 'ignore' for the millionth time in less than twelve hours, Justin's number popped up once again.

I thought about ignoring it again, but then I decided to just answer. It was only fair to hear him out.

Right before it went to voicemail, I picked up. "Hello?"

"Vanessa? Oh my gosh, finally! I've been calling you for hours! I just…I'm sorry okay? I know what I did was so, so, _so_ wrong. I know you're mad at me, but-"

I cut him off. "Justin, it's not even the fact that you shoved me, or the fact that you left me stranded at Sarah's. It's the fact that you _used _me. Why would you do something like that?"

He was silent for a little bit, and I was about to hang up before he spoke.

"Look Vanessa, I'm sorry okay? I was just…I still wasn't over Sarah. I've been with her for so long and…I didn't know how to let her go. I realized that she really didn't care about me as much as I cared about her. I get it now. I'm over it. I'm telling you the truth. Can you just…will you ever forgive me?"

I stared off into space for a little while, fiddling with pieces of my hair.

"Vanessa? You there?"

I sighed to myself. "Yeah, I am."

"Do you…do you forgive me?"

I sighed, louder this time. "I guess."

"Really? Thank you so much. You don't know how much better I feel right now."

I already regretted forgiving him. "Look Justin, I'm going to hang up now."

"Wait, what? You're still mad at me?" He sounded confused.

"Not really mad…just disappointed."

I heard him sigh before he spoke. "Look, I'm coming over there in two hours. Be ready. I have something for us to do."

"But Justin-"

"No buts! Be ready in two hours."

And without another word, he hung up.

I groaned before slamming myself back onto the bed.

**An hour & thirty minutes later**

I bit my lip as my stomach did backflips.

Staring at myself in the mirror, I contemplated changing my outfit for the thousandth time.

I sighed and rolled my eyes as I walked over to the closet again, simply gazing at all of the clothing I had hanging in front of me.

I finally decided on the third outfit I had put on: a plain white quarter length sleeved shirt, turquoise shorts, brown sandals, a scarf, and a matching belt.

I quickly grabbed one of my bags from the top shelf in my closet and made sure it matched my outfit.

Nodding my head in agreement, I picked up my iPhone from its dock beside my bed and opened my bedroom door.

I gasped as I almost ran smack into Ryan.

"Sorry," he said, backing up, "I was about to knock."

I sighed and closed the door behind me before stepping closer to him.

"Don't worry about it. What did you want?"

"I was just going to ask you if you were doing anything today, but I see that you are…"

I just looked at him. "Are _you _doing anything today Ryan?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. I might go out with some friends or something. Where are you going?"

I looked down at my feet. "Justin kept calling me, so I answered him to see what the hell he wanted. And apparently, he wants to see me. So he told me he'd be here to pick me up in two hours…one hour and forty-five minutes ago."

Ryan bit his lip and put his hands in his pockets. "You know, he doesn't seem like a really great guy Vanessa. He left you sitting on the curb of his ex-girlfriend's house for God's sake."

I nodded. "Yeah, I know. And I will be forever pissed off at him for that. But…he didn't really give me an option and-"

"You like him, don't you?"

I was surprised at his bluntness. "Um…I wouldn't say _that_…"

He looked disappointed, and refused to glance in my direction. "Well, I'll see you later tonight I guess. Have fun."

He said, _"Have fun"_ with a hint of sarcasm, and I have to say, I didn't really appreciate it.

My phone buzzed, bringing me back to reality. I picked it up, noticing a new text from Justin.

_Come outside._

My stomach plummeted as I put my phone into my bag, throwing it over my shoulder as I walked down the stairs.

Opening the front door, I pulled out my keys and locked the door back before making my way down the front walk.

I looked down at the sidewalk as I approached Justin's car, trying my best not to look at him.

But I couldn't help it. I snuck a peek through my lashes, and my cheeks started burning as I saw the way he looked at me.

His jeans were falling just below his waist, and his black cap was turned backwards. I could see him looking directly at me as I made my way toward him, and I continued looking down at the sidewalk as I finally made my way over to him.

I stared at his feet for a few seconds before looking up into his eyes. He stared back at me, waiting for me to say something.

Then his head was turned to his right, as he and I both realized that I had slapped him across the face.

He closed his eyes and bit his cheek, and I put my hand on my hip.

"That's just so we're clear about how I feel." I turned on my heel and walked around the car, setting myself into the passenger seat.

I felt Justin get in beside me, shutting the door.

I stared straight ahead, but I could feel his gaze on me. I tried to ignore it but I eventually looked over at him.

I saw that my handprint was on his left cheek, and I admit, I felt kind of bad about slapping him. But I couldn't control myself. My hand went across his face before I even knew what I was doing.

He kept staring at me, and before I could realize what was happening, his lips were on mine.

I pulled away, completely stunned. "Justin, what are you doing?"

He sat back in his seat and looked at me. "I was kissing you." He shrugged his shoulders and raised an eyebrow. "What did you think I was doing?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know…I just…"

I flinched as he grabbed my left hand in his right, and I looked over at him.

"I just…I guess that was my way of saying that I'm sorry, and that…I really like you."

Butterflies entered my stomach, and I looked down at my lap. "No you don't."

He sighed and made me look at him. "Yes, I do. I really, _really_ do. And it wasn't until last night that I realized it."

"Well…I like you too." I looked back down at my lap after I said this, only to have Justin pull my face toward his again.

"Don't be embarrassed Vanessa." He smiled at me, and I bit my lip. There was nothing he could say to make me _not_ feel embarrassed.

He laughed to himself before kissing the back of my hand. He then let go and started the car, backing out of the driveway.

"Where are we going?" I asked, silently praying to God that wherever he was taking me, Sarah wouldn't show up.

"It's a surprise."

I pouted and crossed my arms. "Why does it have to be a surprise?"

He smiled and glanced over at me. "It's just more fun that way."

We rode on for about ten more miles before Justin pulled into a fancy restaurant that was apparently having a grand opening day.

I looked over at Justin, my face full of shock. "Justin, I heard that this place is supposed to be really expensive…"

He just shook his head. "Don't worry, I'll pay for it."

"I think I should at _least_ help you-"

"Thank you Vanessa, but I'm trying to make you trust me again. I think I should pay for everything tonight. You know, to be a gentleman?"

He smiled even wider and winked at me, causing my cheeks to burn.

He hopped out of the car, and before I could even get my seatbelt off, he was opening my door for me, hand extended.

I placed my hand in his and he helped me out of the car, closing the car door behind us.

He gestured for me to link my arm in his, and then led me inside.

Once we were seated (I found out that Justin had a reservation), we were told that our waiter would be coming shortly.

"So…what made you finally answer my phone calls?"

I snapped my head up to look at Justin, shocked that he was asking me that.

I shrugged. "I was contemplating just shutting my phone off, but I thought that would be rude. And I was going to give you a piece of my mind…but then you told me how you felt. And I just couldn't."

I started fidgeting, and Justin wrapped his feet around my ankles, causing me to stop and look at him.

"You're so cute when you're nervous."

I smiled at him, and he seemed shocked. "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before."

I smiled even wider. "Get used to it."

"Hi, my name is Sarah, and I'll be your-"

Justin and I snapped our heads over to who was standing in front of our table.

Of course, it was Sarah.

She sighed. "Justin? Oh my God, are you kidding me? There's just no getting away from you."

I felt Justin flinch at her words, but he looked down at his hands. "Well I'm sorry that I live in this town." He said, aggravated.

She rolled her eyes before her eyes landed on me, giving me a once-over.

She didn't say anything else, and Justin refused to look at me.

I bit my cheek to prevent myself from saying something mean, grabbed my bag, and got up from the table.

"Vanessa! Where are you going?" I heard Justin getting up to follow behind me, but I kept on walking.

So much being "over" Sarah.

I shook my head as I walked faster, ignoring his calls.

I just couldn't believe that he used me _again._


End file.
